Executive Outlook – April 2021

Increasing activity for Q1 2021 for Executive Openings and Executive Appointments

Lead5 tracks executive openings and executive appointments for leading US based companies. Analysis for Lead5 Q1 data for 2021 shows a 17% increase quarter-over-quarter in executive openings and a 28% increase quarter-over-quarter in executive appointments. Year-over-year Lead5 shows executive openings still down 27% from Q1 2020 data, but we are seeing a steady climb back up from the low point of Q3 2020 off of Covid shutdowns where executive openings were down over 40%.

What does this all mean for executives actively or passively seeking new opportunities? The market has upward momentum and looks to continue climbing in terms of openings and appointments. Now is the time to stay connected and pro-active on what is happening in the market for executive opportunities. Familiarize yourself with the Indicators of Management Changes and join the Lead5 community to share insights and gain market intel from fellow members.

Introducing the New Lead5 Corporate Executive Recruiter Database

One major trend of the executive search industry over the last two decades is the increased flow of consultants from the major firms (Korn/Ferry, Heidrick, Spencer Stuart, & Russell Reynolds) to in-house executive recruiting roles within companies, PE firms, and VC firms. The takeaway for the candidate is more senior level leadership positions are being actively sourced and placed directly by the company or financial sponsor. Add the Covid-19 lockdowns and an increased corporate view on cost cutting and you have a scenario entering 2021 where, more than ever, companies are directly recruiting executives and bypassing the retained search firms.

With this trend in mind, Lead5 has built and launched a corporate executive recruiter database that our members have access to and the Lead5 community continues to enhance. Log in to Lead5, click on Community, then People, scroll down and select the Corporate Recruiters tab and use the Lead5 filters to identify the gatekeepers to leadership hiring for thousands of companies including contact details.

Remember, you have a green light to send your resume directly to these in-house executive recruiting professionals and the goal is ensuring your information is updated in the company or PE firms’ executive ATS (Applicant Tracking System). In addition, you want to make the networking connection with the in-house team to keep you informed of current and future leadership openings.

One Lead5 member built a targeted list of companies specific to his industry sector and experienced a 70% response rate to direct outreach to in-house recruiters. This method yields a much higher response than contacting retained recruiters or C-level execs – why? Because the in-house recruiters number one priority is to evaluate external talent and build a bench of current and future available talent for the organization. Remember, retained recruiters number one priority is the hiring company, not the candidate!

Want to learn more? Join the market discussion on Lead5 here:

https://lead5.com/community/forums/posts/241182

Review sample emails for direct outreach here:

https://blog.lead5.com/how-to-best-approach-executive-recruiters/

https://blog.lead5.com/how-to-send-a-strong-intro-email-to-a-ceo/

 

 

Executive Outlook – January 2021

 

The results are in for 2020, and much like all aspects of last year, the executive hiring market has everyone ready to move on to 2021. The total number of executive opportunity leads shared and tracked by Lead5 in 2020 was down 34% year over year from 2019.

 

 

The good news is that the market stabilized in Q3 2020 with a slight uptick for Q4. As we shared in our October Executive Outlook analysis, after discussions with corporate executive recruiters and talent partners from PE firms, we anticipate the traditional Labor Day through Thanksgiving seasonal executive hiring cycle is being pushed back to Q1 2021 due to the global pandemic and the US election cycle.

What this means for you is that executive hiring for Q1 and Q2 in 2021 will bring increased activity and you should be taking steps now to craft a pro-active career strategy. Lead5 will continue to monitor, analyze, and report on these executive hiring trends.

Lead5 is the fastest growing executive community that allows our members to share and exchange hidden exec openings, intel, and career advice. The Lead5 executive platform provides expert methodology and tools, allowing our members to transform data into career advancing results. Learn more at www.lead5.com.

Executive Hiring Doubled from Q2 to Q4 Based on Lead5 Member Analysis

Lead5 analysis of executive members who indicated they landed a new position has increased 98% from Q2 to Q4 in 2020. The increase from Q2 to Q3 was 40%. This is consistent with the pent-up demand from the predominate lockdown months of April through June and is a good signal for a continued uptick in executive hiring to carry through Q1 2021 and beyond. We will continue to monitor these leading indicators from Lead5 data.

Lead5 is the fastest growing executive community for exchanging hidden opportunities, intel, and career advice.

See what Lead5 members are saying about the market and join the conversation:

https://lead5.com/community/forums/posts/241182

How to Best Approach Executive Recruiters

One of the most frequently asked questions from members of Lead5 is how to approach executive recruiters. We have put together a sample email at the end of this blog that we hope is helpful, but let’s also highlight five key points to remember when connecting with search firms:

1. Understand the retained search business model. Lack of understanding of how retained executive search firms operate is the first clue you are not an experienced executive. Retained firms only work for companies – the hiring company is the client. The candidates are a commodity. We as search professionals try not to treat the candidates like a commodity, but the business model is structured in a way that, more often than not, leaves the candidate sensing this dynamic

2. You have a green light to send your resume directly to executive search firm consultants, but make sure you are doing your research. Every firm has partners and principals who recruit for specific industry sectors and functional roles. Determine the best contact by reviewing bios to ensure there is a match between your experience and the partner’s coverage area. The Lead5 recruiter database is a go-to resource for this research. There, you can quickly pinpoint the right targets using your My5 filters.

3. Most executives conducting an active job search connect with 5 to 7 retained search firms, typically with recruiters that have approached them in the past. This is fruitful, but candidates should send their resume to 25 to 30 plus search firms, given the executive search industry is highly fragmented beyond the top 4 to 5 firms. Take the time to complete the research necessary to make sure you are in the “flow” of available opportunities for your industry/function.

4. If you do not hear back from a retained executive recruiter to whom you have sent your resume, do not worry. The first priority is having your resume updated and marked in the proprietary database of the search firm as interested in opportunities. All search firms have a process to update resumes in the database and mark you interested for a 6-to-12-month time frame. In some cases your name is actually highlighted within the system. The baseline is to market yourself to 25 to 30 search firms by having your profile activated in the database. If the particular search consultant you reach out to has an active search that is a fit, they will reach out to you. Otherwise, you are a “seeker candidate” and the best path for a seeker candidate is to get tagged in the system so the entire firm can query and have access to your resume.

5. Personalization is key. If I recruit Chief Marketing Officers and a Chief Technology Officer reaches out, it is not a good look. Do your homework, as 15 to 25 highly targeted, thoughtful notes to search consultants who cover your areas of expertise by industry and function is much more effective than the spam blanket email sent to 100 recruiters. Start with the recruiters/firms you know and expand out with direct outreach to the firms who need to know you.

 

Sample Email to Retained Executive Recruiters

Hi Susan,

Good afternoon. I am a senior HR executive with over 20 years of experience in the consumer products and industrial services sectors. I am aware that you specialize in the HR center of expertise for SmithThompson Search and I’m currently actively seeking out my next role. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my background further at your convenience and I would also appreciate getting marked as active/interested in your firm’s database.

I’ve attached my resume, but my work experience includes the last four years as CHRO of Virtue Products, a PE backed, middle market global consumer company based in Phoenix, AZ.  I previously spent 8 years with Danson Corp, the publicly traded large cap environmental services firm where I served in a variety of divisional and corporate HR leadership positions. I have an undergrad in management from the University of Wisconsin, and an MBA from Notre Dame. Given the right opportunity and location, we would be open to relocation from our current home base in Arizona.

Please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide and thanks in advance for your time.

Best Regards,

Joe Sample

 

 

Executive Outlook – October 2020

With analysis of Lead5 data through Q3, the executive hiring market has stabilized in September with a slight uptick in executive opportunities tracked by Lead5 of +6% MOM from August to September. Moreover, executive appointments are up +31% MOM August to September.

At Lead5, we track appointment and departures of executive teams for leading US based companies and we have been monitoring the data closely to determine if the overall executive hiring market is stabilizing and trending upward.

The September gains match discussions we’ve had with corporate executive recruiters and PE firm talent partners that, after a lull in August, activity is starting to pick up. The prevailing sentiment is that the normal Labor Day through Thanksgiving cycle will likely be replaced by an election day through Q1 2021 activity cycle.

Lead5 will continue to monitor and report on executive hiring data trends.

Executive Compensation 101

Hi, I’m Mike Russ COO of Lead5.  Compensation is the basis of many questions that we receive at Lead5 from executive-level candidates.  Some firms will tell a candidate that they “compensate very competitively” which is deliberately vague.  After all, the candidate must prove that they are the right fit before any compensation discussion gets serious.

In reality, there are a number of factors that go into executive compensation.  I won’t cover them all in this blog, but I will give you some useful directional guidance on compensation, and close with two ways to think about compensation more strategically.

Public Company Executive Job Seekers.  Let’s cover compensation for the executive seeking a role with a public company first.   Many execs don’t realize that the SEC is mandated to release the compensation for the top 5 executives for public firms.    Here’s what you need to conduct that research: https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/answersproxyhtfhtm.html

Knowing the top 5 executive salary range provides you with useful directional guidance about what a public company is willing to pay for a particular executive function.

Additionally, if you identify an executive opening in your industry and within your function, you probably have a general compensation range in mind.  Keep in mind that company size (measured by number of employees, revenue) is a factor, and certain companies are known to compensate more generously than others.   This is where some basic search queries and solid networking comes into play.

Private and Private Equity Executive Job Seekers.   Unlike executives seeking prominent roles with public companies, private and PE companies are more nuanced in how they treat compensation.   The best way to get an understanding in these markets is to connect with a recruiter who specializes in your function to best understand emerging compensation trends:

For example, Lead5 compensation analysis has shown an increase in the average base salary for CFO’s of PE backed lower middle market companies over the last 2 years.  The mid-point of base salary has traditionally been roughly $250,000.  With a highly competitive market for proven players with previous PE portfolio company CFO experience, the base salary range has jumped up to $300,000.  

Here’s a useful compensation resource for executive leaders seeking roles in PE-backed companies:

https://privateequitycompensation.com/contents/

 

Thinking About Executive Compensation Strategically

There’s a lot of information I could cover here, but I want to touch on two points that every executive should consider.

1. Not all experience is equal in the marketplace. What I mean is that within every field, there is a ‘golden route’ to the highest potential compensation track.   Here’s a few examples:

a. CFOs who begin as CPAs within the Big 4 early in their careers

b. General Counsels who cut their teeth at a top 100 law firm

c. CMOs who early on lead a consumer product with P&G

While it’s absolutely true that top executive talent comes from a variety of different firm structures, compensation data proves that these types of tracks are the most lucrative ones.

2. Taking the long view on executive compensation. While every executive wishes to maximize their market potential, it’s exceptionally important to recognize the built-in long-term value of landing that first C-level position.   To earn a seat in the C-suite, you must demonstrate mastery in your functional area and produce consistent results.   Over the long haul, those skills are far more valuable to the marketplace than whatever initial C-level compensation that you receive.

I hope this information has been useful to you!   Helping executives land prominent executive roles at leading companies is something I’m passionate about.  Feel free to reach out to me anytime if you have questions about executive compensation:  mike@lead5.com

Use Lead5 to uncover hidden executive opportunities and gain the intel required to land your next prominent role.   Lead5 has been the executives trusted partner for 5 years.  

Start your complimentary trial. 

5 Tips to Mine the Hidden Executive Job Market

The challenge: 80% of C-Suite level executive opportunities are never published.   If you’re an executive looking to make a career move, that statistic can seem daunting.

In the past, due to the secretive and cumbersome process of finding executive search opportunities, executives have been trained to be passive in their career journey.   This includes waiting on a call from a retained recruiter, sending in a CV for a published executive role (where it sits on a desk with the other 1,000 CV’s), or networking and hoping that the stars align.

But there’s good news.   There is a better way.    Here are 5 effective steps to help you transition from being a passive executive job seeker to a proactive participant in your career.   Now you have the power to land your next senior role.

1. Subscribe to Lead5.com. Lead5 has helped leading executives tap the hidden executive job world for the last 5 years.    It was founded by Josh Wimberley a former Senior Partner at Korn-Ferry who recognized that executives need transparent access to unpublished senior roles the moment they become available.

2. It’s a timing game. The highest earning positions are the most sought-after.  As such, you must throw your hat in the ring at the earliest possible point in the job search.   Lead 5’s edge is timeliness driven by its proprietary AI.   Lead 5 lists jobs on average 45 days before other comparable services giving you a competitive edge.  

3. Be prepared.  Related to timeliness listed above, you must have a keen sense of what your next role will look like, and how to tailor your CV and outreach accordingly.   Remember, companies have a vested interest in landing the right candidate sooner rather than later.   Make sure you’re prepared to strike.  

4. Information is key. At the executive level, your understanding of the role, company, and industry is table stakes.   To stand out from your competition, you should leverage insider information.   For example: services like Lead5.com inform you on the dynamics of departures so that you can understand who you are attempting to replace (and in certain cases, who you should actively differentiate yourself from).

5. Continuous networking. Too often we see executives tapping into their network after they sense their current opportunity is no longer viable.   As executive job transitions often take 180 days on average, this means that they’re already behind the eight ball.  The lesson?   As busy as you are, don’t neglect the people that have played a role in your success.   Likewise, be the person that other executives seek out when they need a helping hand.   This is an exclusive world and what goes around, comes around.

Most executive jobs are unlisted.   Use Lead5 to uncover hidden executive opportunities and gain the intel required to land your next prominent role.   Lead5 has been the executives trusted partner for 5 years.  

Start your complimentary trial today.